Hello
My name is Amy Ward and I’ve just joined the team at East Lancashire Hospitals Trust.

I will mainly be supporting our Clinical Librarian with literature searching and outreach activities. I completed my library traineeship at the University of Bradford in 2014/15. This is where I got my first taste of health librarianship, shadowing the health studies librarian Donna delivering PICO research sessions to the students. I graduated from my MA in Librarianship in 2018 and I have previously worked in further and higher education libraries.
I always thought academic libraries were for me but a department reshuffle combined with the pandemic lead me to re-evaluate my career; going back to commuting on a packed train into central Manchester just didn’t appeal to me anymore. Supporting academic staff and students is obviously important and I really enjoyed my job but I felt that supporting healthcare staff would have a much greater impact. I enjoy literature searching and never really got to do much of it working in academic libraries. I am busy swotting up on medical terminology and learning all about our service, the Trust and the NHS. With the move to the native interfaces and EDS imminent, I think I have joined at an exciting time.
I am very proud to be joining the NHS team and I am a big believer in the power of information and knowledge. I am so excited for the next chapter in my career with the NHS Knowledge and Library Service and I am looking forward to supporting my new colleagues, our NHS heroes. I am keen to meet colleagues from other trusts and to get involved in any way I can. Please do connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter or follow my professional blog Books, Sweat & Tears | #LibraryLife (wordpress.com).